On Air: Fukuoka City Information/2015.11.28(Sat)/09:00～

It has been 10 years since the municipal conference campaign took place in Fukuoka city, and each area has come to develop its own individualistic initiatives. However, it's become apparent that there is lowered interest in local communities, less participation in activities, and weakening relationships between residents. The Local Town Relationship-Building Committee presented its findings on the matter in October. As a result, Fukuoka city has elected to engage in something called the NEXT Community Area campaign.

For towns full of smiling faces, three things are important; creating beauty, creating local ties, and fostering personnel.

Creating beauty refers to imagining the town you want and fostering action to make your area the way you'd like it to be.

Creating local ties refers to increasing the number of locations, such as cafes or exchange venues, and opportunities for people to come together and deepen their relationships. Knowing your neighbors is tied to things like community cooperation and disaster prevention and such. For example, in Tsutsumi Public Hall in Jyonan ward, the Tsutsumi Cafe was opened two years ago. The building's assembly hall is decorated like a cafe and free drinks and sweets are offered from 10 AM until 4 PM once a month. A consultation corner with healthcare and welfare workers is set up in the neighboring room and offers consultation services for guests. Every event has seen about 100 participants enjoying their free time there.

Lastly, there is the idea of fostering personnel. This looks to invoke more proactive participation in the community from industries, businesses and NPOs and such. And of course, it is important to find and foster personnel able to cultivate communities, and to create an environment where such personnel can continue to work at the same time they are involved in roles in their community. We are seeing an increase in businesses providing monetary allowances to members of the community board, making it easy for their workers to get involved in community activities. Workers involved with the program are able to acclimate to their communities better after retirement.

To solve the various challenges, your understanding and cooperation are needed in addition to the efforts the city is making. Please help support the development of healthy, independent, attractive communities where we all want to live our lives.